WUNRN
Current Status on Implementation??
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Parliamentarians called for
the preparation of a European code of good conduct and the introduction of a
European prize for advertising which breaks most effectively with sexist
stereotypes. |
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Resolution
1557 (2007)1
Image
of women in advertising
1. The
Parliamentary Assembly notes that images of women which are totally at odds
with their actual roles in our contemporary societies are still common in
advertising today.
2. Too
often, advertising shows women in situations which are humiliating and
degrading, or even violent and offensive to human dignity.
3. The
Assembly is angered by the fact that it is nearly always women who are reduced
to the role of mere consumer commodities or sex objects in certain
advertisements.
4. Respect
for human dignity should, however, be one of the advertisers’ constant aims.
5. The
Assembly is aware that much work will be required to change attitudes and
demolish stereotypes which do women a disservice in their fight for equality.
Its fundamental aim is accordingly to ensure that women everywhere can at last
see their real image faithfully reflected in the world in which they lead their
daily lives.
6. It
welcomes the fact that certain governments, non-governmental organisations and
European governmental agencies have made progress on the image of women in the
media and advertising. Studies have been carried out and laws have even been
strengthened in order to combat discrimination between women and men.
7.
However, the Assembly deplores the persistence of negative images and
representations of women in advertising, which is partly due to the fact that
many European states lack adequate laws and that national advertising codes are
either ignored or are sometimes even non-existent.
8. It
accordingly asks the Council of Europe’s member states to take the necessary
action to ensure that, whatever form it may take, the image of women is
respected in a dignified and non-discriminatory way, while respecting the basic
principle of freedom of expression, which rules out any form of censorship.
9. It
denounces the harm done to the health of young girls, such as anorexia and, in
later life, the development of conditions such as osteoporosis, provoked by
certain advertisements that present thin women as a standard of beauty.
10. It
recalls the importance of the Declaration and Platform for Action of the United
Nations 4th World Conference on Women (Beijing, September 1995), which
recommends, among other things, that the media and advertising bodies develop,
consistent with freedom of expression, professional guidelines and codes of
conduct and other forms of self-regulation to promote the presentation of
non-stereotyped images of women.
11. Basing
itself on the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women of 18 December 1979, the Assembly emphasises the
need for action of three kinds: regulation, self-regulation and education to
help people to react critically to advertising.
12. The
Assembly accordingly recommends that the Council of Europe member states:
12.1.
ratify the Optional Protocol to the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of all
Forms of Discrimination against Women, make a declaration accepting the
amendment to Article 20, paragraph 1, of the convention, bring their laws into
line with those texts and submit, if they are not already doing so, regular
reports to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on
the legislative, judicial, administrative and other measures they have adopted
to implement the convention and on progress made in this regard;
12.2.
implement the Beijing Platform for Action on women and the media and take
stock every year of progress made in this area;
12.3.
adopt appropriate domestic laws:
12.3.1.
making incitement to discrimination an offence in all advertising media;
12.3.2.
giving women’s associations the right to take legal action in defence of a
collective interest – the elimination of discrimination against women in
advertising;
12.4.
encourage the introduction of national self-regulating schemes and reinforce
the self-regulating machinery set up by national advertising standards
authorities by:
12.4.1.
amending national ethical codes to prevent the dissemination of advertising
images or messages which could be interpreted as inciting discrimination
against women or as violating human dignity;
12.4.2.
including consumer representatives (women and men) on national advertising
standards authorities;
12.4.3.
strengthening the binding character of decisions taken by advertising standards
authorities;
12.4.4.
attaching to national advertising standards authorities a group of experts to
make an in-depth study of the mechanisms of advertising;
12.5. take
the following educational measures in respect of advertising:
12.5.1.
provide further training for advertising professionals, and also basic training
in advertising schools, on respecting equality between women and men and, more
generally, non-discrimination;
12.5.2.
set up programmes to help consumers to analyse the effects of advertising;
12.5.3.
provide adequate resources and run programmes in schools to teach children to
distinguish between advertising and reality;
12.5.4.
run press campaigns to make the public aware of sexist or violent advertising
and tell them what they can do to curb it;
12.5.5.
provide toll-free phone numbers and e-mail and postal addresses which the
public can use to complain when advertisements use images of women which
violate human dignity;
12.5.6.
introduce a prize awarded by advertising professionals, and a prize awarded by
the public, for the advertising campaign which breaks most effectively with
sexist stereotypes.
1. Assembly debate on 26 June 2007 (21st Sitting) (see Doc. 11286, report of the Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men, rapporteur: Mrs Bilgehan). Text adopted by the Assembly on 26 June 2007 (21st Sitting).
____________________________________________________________________
BACKGROUND
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Doc.
11286
21
May 2007
The
image of women in advertising
Report
Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men
Rapporteur: Ms Gülsün BILGEHAN, Turkey, Socialist Group
Summary
Images
which are totally divorced from reality are still common in advertising and
this applies to many stereotypes concerning the role and functions of women and
men in society. It is chiefly women who are vulgarised in advertisements and
commodified or presented as sex objects – usually in ways which have nothing to
do with the actual product. Advertisers bear a heavy responsibility, since they
exercise a decisive influence on the public and particularly the young – often,
indeed, with lasting effects on their vision of themselves and others.
Advertising
can be discriminatory or violate human dignity when, in one way or another, it
debases or humiliates either sex.
At the
same time, we must remember that freedom of expression is, and must remain, the
rule, but that respect for human dignity is a vital reference point.
The
Parliamentary Assembly should urge the Council of Europe’s member states to
change their laws to make incitement to discrimination in any advertising
medium an offence, give women’s associations the right to bring proceedings,
strengthen the self-regulating machinery set up by national advertising
standards authorities and take action to foster critical attitudes to
advertising.
The
Assembly should also recommend that the Council of Europe’s Committee of
Ministers instruct an international committee of experts to make a thorough
study of the image of women and men in advertising and on the basis of the
findings, draw up a European code of good conduct, encouraging advertisers to
present images of women and men which respect their dignity.
A.
Draft resolution
1.
The Parliamentary Assembly notes that images of women which are totally at odds
with their actual roles in our contemporary societies are still common in
advertising today.
2.
Too often, advertising shows women in situations which are humiliating and
degrading, or even violent and offensive to human dignity.
3.
The Assembly is angered by the fact that women are nearly always the ones who
are presented in certain advertisements as mere consumer commodities or sex
objects.
4.
Respect for human dignity should be one of the advertisers’ constant aims.
5.
The Assembly is aware that much work will be required to change attitudes and
demolish stereotypes which do women a disservice in their fight for equality.
Its fundamental aim is accordingly to ensure that women everywhere can at last
see their real image faithfully reflected in the world in which they lead their
daily lives.
6.
It welcomes the fact that certain governments, non-governmental organisations
and European governmental agencies have made progress on the image of women in
the media and advertising. Studies have been carried out and laws have even
been strengthened to combat discrimination between women and men.
7.
However, the Assembly deplores the persistence of negative images and
representations of women in advertising, which is partly due to the fact that
many European states lack adequate laws, and that national advertising codes
are either ignored, or indeed non-existent.
8.
It recalls the importance of the Declaration and Platform for Action of the
Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing, September 1995), which recommends,
among other things, that the media and advertising bodies “develop, consistent
with freedom of expression, professional guidelines and codes of conduct and
other forms of self-regulation to promote the presentation of non-stereotyped
images of women”.
9.
Basing itself on the United Nations Convention of 18 December 1979 on the
Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Assembly
emphasises the need for action of three kinds: regulation, self-regulation and
training to help people to react critically to advertising.
10.
The Assembly accordingly recommends that the Council of Europe’s member states:
10.1.
ratify the Optional Protocol to the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of all
Forms of Discrimination against Women, make a declaration accepting the
amendment to Article 20 (1) of the Convention, bring their laws into line with
those texts and submit, if they are not already doing so, regular reports to
the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on the
legislative, judicial, administrative and other measures they have adopted to
implement the Convention and on progress made in this regard;
10.2.
implement the
10.3.
adopt domestic laws:
10.3.1.
making incitement to discrimination an offence in all advertising media;
10.3.2.
giving women’s associations the right to take legal action in defence of a
collective interest - the elimination of discrimination against women in
advertising;
10.4.
encourage the introduction of national self-regulating schemes and reinforce
the self-regulating machinery set up by national advertising standards
authorities by:
10.4.1.
amending national ethical codes to prevent the dissemination of advertising
images or messages which may be interpreted as inciting to discrimination
against women, or as violating human dignity;
10.4.2.
including consumer representatives (women and men) on national advertising
standards authorities;
10.4.3.
strengthening the binding character of decisions taken by advertising standards
authorities;
10.4.4.
attaching to national advertising standards authorities a group of experts to
make an in-depth study of the mechanisms of advertising;
10.5.
take the following educational measures in
respect of advertising:
10.5.1.
provide continued training for advertising professionals, and also basic
training in advertising schools, on respecting equality between women and men
and, more generally, avoiding discrimination;
10.5.2.
set up programmes to help consumers to analyse the effects of advertising;
10.5.3.
provide adequate resources and run programmes in schools to teach children to
distinguish between advertising and reality;
10.5.4.
run press campaigns to make the public aware of sexist or violent advertising
and tell them what they can do to curb it;
10.5.5.
provide toll-free phone numbers and e-mail and postal addresses which the
public can use to complain when advertisements use images of women which
violate human dignity;
10.5.6.
introduce a prize awarded by advertising professionals, and a prize awarded by
the public, for the advertising which breaks most effectively with sexist
stereotypes.
B.
Draft recommendation
1.
The Parliamentary Assembly refers to its Resolution … (2007) on the image of
women in advertising and asks the Committee of Ministers to ensure that the
member states implement it.
2.
It asks the Committee of Ministers to appoint an international committee of
experts to make an in-depth study of the image of women and men in advertising.
3.
On the basis of the findings of this study, the Committee of Ministers will be
asked to draw up a European code of good conduct encouraging advertising
professionals to present images which are not discriminatory and respect the
dignity of women and men.
4.
The Assembly also asks the Committee of Ministers to:
4.1 award
a European prize to advertising which breaks most effectively with sexist
stereotypes and promotes equality between women and men;
4.2
organise a European campaign to make the public aware of sexist or violent
advertising and tell them what they can do to curb it.
C.
Explanatory memorandum by Ms Gülsün Bilgehan, Rapporteur
I.
Introduction
1. The
Rapporteur is continuing the work, already well advanced, undertaken by the
previous two Rapporteurs, Ms Laloy and Ms Pehlivan, who were both unfortunately
unable to finish their work.
2.
Advertising plays a major role in contemporary society. Every day, we see
hundreds of images which imperceptibly give us distorted ideas of the status,
behaviour and roles of individuals in the community. Advertisers bear a heavy
responsibility, since they still present, all too often, images which threaten
human dignity, incite to violence and contribute to misunderstanding between
the sexes.
3. Certain
advertisements, some of them very widely displayed, rely on images which are
degrading and humiliating to women – presenting them, for example, as
stereotypes of physical beauty and using them simply as bait, to focus the
consumer’s attention on the product offered.
4.
Advertising becomes genuinely dangerous when it uses images or word-play to
perpetuate sexism by reinforcing a stereotyped vision of male-female relations,
or when it trivialises violence.
5.
European consumers are bombarded with aggressively sexual images of women and
are less and less able to counter this trend, which is now spreading to images
of men. It is true that the public are becoming more sensitive in the matter of
respect for human dignity in advertising. In
6. In
other words, advertising is far from conveying the message that women and men
are equal. In fact, it is chiefly women who are presented in certain
advertisements as mere commodities or sex objects.
7. The
division of roles between women and men in the community is undergoing radical
changes, but the image of women in advertising rarely reflects this.
8. This is
why it is vital to denounce the discrepancy between the stereotypes employed in
some advertising and the wide range of roles and functions which women exercise
in the community.
9.
Moreover, the last few years have seen a return to the worst of the old,
distorted clichés, with women confined to the home and dancing attendance on
their menfolk, or using their physical attributes to push sales, regardless of
the product. Over the very same period, equal opportunity has made substantial
progress, both in law and in practice, with women playing a bigger part in
political and community life throughout Europe.
10. The
seriousness of all this becomes apparent when we remember that the impact of
advertising on the public, and particularly the young, is so decisive that it
may well have lasting effects on the way they see themselves and others, and
undermine the progress made on gender equality.
11. To
form a clear idea of the problems, the Assembly’s Committee on Equal
Opportunities for Women and Men held a hearing on this question in Paris on
16 May 2006, to which various representatives of the advertising
world were invited.
II.
Why target advertising?
12.
Violence, stereotyped images and the use of women as sex objects are not
limited to advertising. Other media – TV series, programmes and gameshows,
video clips, radio programmes (all particularly aimed at young people), etc. -
feature them too.
13.
However, the very nature of advertising, and its undoubted mass medium status,
help it to give these images a currency and impact which being linked with
certain (often luxury) brands merely serves to reinforce4.
14. Their
recurrence in advertising trivialises these images of women as objects –
aggressively sexual, dependent, submissive or the victims of violence.
15. In
developed countries, it is estimated that every individual is now exposed to
some 2,500 advertising messages daily5. Advertising is
everywhere, in the home and outside; it is an inbuilt part of our everyday
environment and, in one form or another, is with us all the time. We get it in
the old familiar ways (TV, radio, press, cinema, posters, etc.) and in new ones
too (pop-ups and spam on the Web, mobile phone messages, junk-mail) - not to
mention artful product placement in films6.
16. Art
and advertising are different things – and different because their aims are
diametrically opposed. The artist seeks to communicate a truth, the advertiser
simply to sell. For Mr Tisseron, advertising is about one thing only: using
aesthetic, targeted suggestions to sell a product 7. Indeed, European law defines advertising as “the making of
a representation in any form in connection with a trade, business, craft or
profession in order to promote the supply of goods or services, including
immovable property, rights and obligations”8. Since advertising
forces itself on people, it is reasonable that it should be more strictly
regulated than culture and its products.
17. Ms
Pasquier also sees a difference between art, where we are active, and
advertising, where we are passive: we seek out the first, but the second comes
looking for us. Because this is so, and because advertising is merely a front
for selling products, it does not enjoy the same rights as art, e.g. the right
to break taboos9.
18. The
voluntary consumption of art is easily distinguished from the forced
consumption of advertising - inflicted on captive consumers who cannot close
their eyes to the images which surround them in their everyday environment.
19.
Because advertising serves commercial interests, and because its language is
the language of seduction, advertisers have a duty to monitor its content and
must answer for the public’s reactions to it. Mr Teyssier insists that this is
their chief ethical responsibility - to respect the public, whether readers,
viewers or consumers10.
III.
The representation of women in advertising
20.
Advertising seeks to influence behaviour as a sales ploy – that is its raison
d’être. It must persuade us insidiously, without making us feel that we are
being manipulated. It has, in other words, to seduce us by playing on, and
activating, unconscious desires - and what better means to this end than images
of women?
21. Mr
Tisseron believes11 that the
widespread presence of women in advertising reflects the very nature of
advertising, which plays on three kinds of desire: sexual desire, the desire to
think well of oneself, and the desire to be part of a group.
22.
Concerning the first, he explains that advertising works by manipulating
various forms of sexual desire. Products aimed at men are normally associated
with a desirable female body; products for women are normally associated with a
desirable female image. In advertising, women appear as models for women, and
potential partners for men.
23. He
further explains that our desire to be valued accounts for the widespread
presence of women-as-mothers in advertising, where they are used to make us
feel loved. Basically, this kind of advertising aims at childhood regression,
encouraging us to associate our own mother with the product – and playing on
our self-esteem.
24.
Advertising’s third big discovery is that we all want to be part of a group.
Possessing certain things is tantamount to joining an exclusive club, whose
members own things that few others can afford12.
25. Since
they sell products effectively, women remain a “sure bet” for advertisers.
26. The
real issue is not specific images of scantily clad women, but “the
proliferation of images which together generate theories as to what women are,
what they do, and what can be done with them”13.
27. Sexist
stereotypes are nothing new, and can be defined as “any pejorative or partial
representation of either sex (in language, attitudes or images), which
associates particular roles, modes of behaviour, characteristics, attributes or
products to people on the basis of gender, without taking them into
consideration as individuals. Partiality and denigration may be either explicit
or implicit”14. The gap between
the stereotypes used in advertising and the many roles played by women today
needs to be highlighted.
28.
Although women’s liberation has made rapid progress, it is clear that the image
of women in advertising has changed little. Today, that image is still very
much what it was before the feminist revolution, i.e. women as housewives with
horizons bounded by kitchen, home and school. Still highly stereotyped, it
usually shows women only as perfect wife, mother or woman-as-object. For
example, women are nearly always used to advertise household products.
29. Female nudity and sexuality have also become the advertisers’ favourite lure. Instead of things with which it has some connection (e.g. lingerie or beauty products for the body), nudity is used to sell cars, refrigerators, bedclothes and countless other products. At this point, image and product lose all connection, and use of the female body as a sales ploy turns women into mere sex objects. This reduction in their status is backed by messages suggestive of male domination. In Ms Pasquier’s view, when men turn women into sex objects, they assert their power over them.15
30. Use of
the female body in advertising went even further with so-called “porno chic”,
in which the luxury goods industry associated female sexuality with fantasies
of all kinds, even trivialising pornography in the process16. Some people claim
that “porno chic” is on the way out, but the rapporteur believes that it is
still very present in the media. Take a very recent Dolce & Gabbana
advertisement, in which a group of young women and men are holding down one of
their number in a position which suggests that rape is intended. Another example:
the image in a Jitrois advertisement of a leather-clad woman sprawled, legs
apart, on a bed and clearly offering her body to a man - which also suggests
that a sex act is imminent17.
31.
Speaking of “porno chic” in its latest report, the French Advertising Standards
Authority sees “signs that this trend, which used pornographic images of
violence and submission, appeared around 2000 and had practically disappeared
in the last year or so, is coming back. Images of sexual practices involving
several participants (usually triolism) are particularly common”18. This type of
advertising is dangerous because it stereotypes women as objects and
trivialises sexual violence by glamorising it. This reduces sexuality to a
consumer commodity, and the social results of this can be serious.
32.
Violence is frequently trivialised in advertisements featuring situations in
which men dominate women, showing battered or bruised bodies in postures which
suggest animals or even rape. Images or word-play of this kind imply that all
of this is biologically conditioned and so normal – sometimes even presenting
it in would-be humorous terms. Similarly, sexual aggression, harassment and
violence are often presented as “normal” expressions of passionate desire.
33. How
can anyone claim that images like this, which are thrown at the public, and
which clearly incite to violence and discrimination, are not an offence against
human dignity? And how can we tolerate them, knowing as we do that violence
against women is a problem in all the countries of Europe, and that at least
one European woman in five is the victim of domestic violence?
34. These
forms of violence, usually practised on women by men, reflect a vision of the
roles of men and women which is outdated and inconsistent with the concept of
equality, but which is still commonplace in advertising and the media, and may
totally destabilise those who suffer maltreatment.
IV.
The effects of advertising on behaviour
35. The
media and advertising are not solely responsible for stereotyping women or for
violence against them - messages which are put across in many other ways - but
they still contribute substantially to the process. Advertising has certain
social duties here, since it helps, like the other media, to disseminate images
of society which foster discrimination and reinforce stereotypes.
36. In
fact, we are constantly exposed to “information and possible role models which
shape and reshape us. The part which the media play in this social learning
process, and in perceptions of that process, is very important and beyond
question scientifically”19.
37. Thanks
to this constant flow of images, advertising has significant effects on our
perception of relations between the sexes. Often without realising it, we
reproduce the attitudes and behaviour patterns it puts before us, indirectly
showing us our role in male-female relationships, how “normal” women or men behave,
and how to make ourselves sexually attractive. All of these “lessons” lead us
to adopt stereotyped, rather than natural and personal, patterns of behaviour.
In this way, advertising insidiously imposes a certain vision of “normality” on
consumers.
38. Mr Tisseron says that advertising agencies rely enormously on people’s well-known tendency to identify with things which are skilfully presented - and have numerous psychologists to advise them on improving their marketing techniques. They must know how to shock consumers without going too far, and use images to motivate them without turning them off.20
39.
Advertisers are prepared to spend vast sums on putting their message across:
every year, billions of euros are poured into consumer research and
advertising. This unrivalled “fire-power” creates a massive imbalance between
reality and fantasy, and sporadic consciousness-raising campaigns, backed by
slender resources, are not easily able to correct this.
40. For
Isabelle Alonso, head of “Chiennes de garde”, a collective founded to combat
the “prevailing misogyny”, the mirror held up by advertising is “the mirror in
which it likes to see us. In our man-centred world, advertising sees the world
with male eyes, even when it targets the famous under-50 housewife. She too is
a vehicle for everyday sexism” 21.
41. The women’s movements are not the only ones to take offence, since a recent Belgian22 survey of 2100 women showed that two-thirds of them regarded respect for women in advertising and the media as crucial. Moreover, nine out of ten reacted negatively to over-feminine advertising, and seven out of ten rarely or never bought products or services from firms which perpetuated clichés of the “technology for men, emotions for women” variety. The same applies in France, where the IPSOS opinion polling institute reports that 46% of French people are shocked by the way in which women are presented in advertising. In Spain too, there is growing disapproval of sexist images in advertising.23
42.
Questioned on this point, a former advertising professional insisted that
advertising was indeed important, and made no secret of the fact that
advertisers – like artists, philosophers or film makers – played a major role
in society24.
43. Other
advertising professionals take a very different view and argue that advertising
simply follows trends – like the current emphasis on the female body in the
media – without setting them. Ms Pasquier and Ms Era also think that it mirrors
society and reflects the way in which it changes25.
44.
Advertising plays an active role and presents a distorted reflection of
society, since the functions and attitudes of the women it shows are not those
of women in real life. Advertising rarely shows women playing multiple roles,
which is something they normally do in real life, as workers, wives, mothers,
etc.
45. Media
and advertising are one of the key factors in perpetuating sexist stereotypes.
46.
Children and adolescents are not immune to sexist stereotypes either. Here
again, the stereotypes come from many sources (families, friends, schools,
etc.).
47. It has
been found that young children are psychologically unable to make a distinction
between real life and the image of real life purveyed by advertising, which may
actually distort their understanding of the world. Increasingly realistic
digital imagery is not without blame, and nor is the growing confusion between
the real and the imaginary in both advertising and the media (reality TV, video
games, films, etc.).
48. And
yet, protecting children is one of this century’s great social objectives. The
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child recognises the importance
of the media, insisting, among other things, on children’s right to information
and to high-quality material which is likely to promote their development.
49. Mr
Tisseron thinks the real danger for children up to the age of 7 or 8 is that
they may see advertising as representing the real adult world. Adult fantasies
and violent images may be deeply shocking to children, cause distress and
insecurity, and make them crave protection. Violent images may also prompt them
to become violent themselves – earlier and more brutally26.
50. These
are Mr Tisseron’s reasons for insisting that children must be taught to “read”
images, and given the guidance they need to distance themselves from what they
see.
51. Like
everyone else, adolescents are also bombarded with sexual and stereotyped
images. Some can ignore them, others get hooked. It is to be feared that young
people today are so inured to this kind of advertising that they fail to see
the harm in it, and later reproduce the stereotyped behaviour patterns it
offers them.
52. In
other words, without necessarily inciting to violence, advertising may
encourage a kind of adolescent defiance, which can easily tip into real
violence later.
53. The
serious problems experienced by thousands of adolescent girls today are good
reason for insisting on the dangerous effects of advertisements which feature
unusually thin women. These “matchstick girls” are omnipresent – in
advertising, on the catwalk, in magazines – and cannot be ignored. Presented as
ideals of perfect beauty, they are becoming younger - and skinnier - all the
time, and the end-result is rejection of the body. These fashion-plate images
of idealised, slender beauty, are a positive threat to young girls’ health and
self-esteem. The underlying message is that thinness, sex appeal, physical
beauty, popularity, success and happiness are linked.
54. Many
psychologists and doctors with anorexic patients believe that this universal
image of bodily perfection, stealthily imposed by advertising and the other
media, merely aggravates this tragic problem. Countless girls and women are
constantly trying to match this false ideal of beauty, and inflicting
nutritional torture on themselves to do it.
55. The
fashion and advertising industries have a definite responsibility here, since
they have chosen to put over, by degrees, a stereotyped image of women, based
on their own aesthetic criteria. Those criteria have nothing to do with the
real world, from which their efforts to force a certain vision on the public have
severed them.
V.
Freedom of expression and human dignity
56. When
two vital freedoms – in this case, free speech and respect for human dignity –
clash, it is never easy to decide between them.
57.
Freedom of expression is one of the fundamental pillars of democracy but can
never be used to justify attacks on human dignity.
58. Article 10, paragraph 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), which guarantees freedom of opinion and expression, has laid down a principle which the Strasbourg Court has solemnly declared to be “one of the essential foundations of a democratic society”.27
59.
However, paragraph 2 of that article also makes exercise of this freedom
subject to “certain formalities, conditions and restrictions provided for in
law, which constitute measures necessary in a democratic society to protect the
reputation or rights of others”.
60. In
other words, national legislators may impose certain restrictions on freedom of
expression, to protect, among other things, the health, morals, reputation or
rights of others. This means that we may, without violating the basic
principle, apply special measures to advertising to protect the health, morals
or reputation of women.
61.
Freedom of expression is also qualified by Article 14 of the Convention, which
states that the rights and freedoms recognised by the ECHR must be guaranteed
without any distinction on grounds of sex. This may be interpreted as
guaranteeing men and women equal rights in exercising freedom of expression,
but it may also be interpreted as guaranteeing that the ideas, information and
opinions expressed may not in themselves discriminate against either sex.
62.
Finally, a third qualification is added by Article 17 of the Convention, which
declares that the rights guaranteed by the ECHR may not be used to pursue an
activity or perform an act which is designed to subvert those same rights. This
article is used against people who voice racist ideas, but it might also be
used against advertisers who abuse their right to freedom of expression to put
over messages which discriminate on grounds of sex.28
63. In
short, any restriction on advertisers’ freedom of commercial expression must be
relevant, proportionate and justified by the equally important principles of
respect for human dignity and non-discrimination.
64. This
is why some European countries have passed laws which make it possible to curb
sexist advertising.
65. Spain
and Portugal have expressly made the dissemination of advertising which
discriminates against either sex a criminal offence.
66. Ms
Ortiz Gómez reports that, in Spain, Act 34/1988 of 11 November 1988 on sexist
advertising makes advertising which offends against human dignity or violates
women’s rights unlawful. This law was amended in 2004 to clarify the concept of
degrading or discriminatory advertising. This is defined as advertising which
directly uses the female body or part of the female body, when this has no
connection with the product advertised, or which projects an image associated
with stereotyped behaviour patterns29.
67. Other
countries, like Belgium, have no such laws, but their courts could use
anti-discrimination and consumer protection laws to attack sexist advertising,
following the example of Finland, which is building up a body of case-law in
this area. On several occasions, the Finnish commercial court has ruled that TV
commercials which featured scantily-clad women were sexual allusions
unconnected with the product, and were merely using women as bait and sex
objects in a degrading and humiliating manner30.
68. The
women’s rights approach to this problem is the best one, for two reasons: 1.
protecting women’s rights does not interfere with advertisers’ right to freedom
of expression; 2. protecting the right to non-discrimination on grounds of sex
is calculated to promote the basic democratic principle of equality between
human beings.
VI.
International and European sources
69. Apart
from the ECHR, there are other international texts to ensure that advertising
respects human dignity and does not discriminate on grounds of sex.
i.
At international level
70. The
Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women,
adopted on 18 December 1979 by the General Assembly of the United Nations, is
often regarded as the international charter of women’s rights, and its optional
Protocol allows women whose rights have been violated, and who have exhausted
domestic remedies, to approach the Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women. Article 5 of the Convention asks States Parties
to modify the social and cultural patterns of male and female behaviour, with a
view to eliminating practices based on stereotyped roles for women and men, or
on the idea that one sex is inferior or superior to the other.
71. The
Declaration and Platform for Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women
(Beijing, September 1995) include recommendations on “women and the media”,
which emphasise the need to “develop, consistent with freedom of expression,
professional guidelines and codes of conduct and other forms of self-regulation
to promote the presentation of non-stereotyped images of women”.
72.
Articles 4.1 and 4.3 of the International Code of Advertising Practice, drawn
up by the International Chamber of Commerce, state that “advertisements should
not condone any form of discrimination, including that based upon race,
national origin, religion, sex or age, nor should they in any way undermine
human dignity” and that “advertisements should not appear to condone or incite
violence, nor to encourage unlawful or reprehensible behaviour”.
ii.
In Europe
73. On 5
October 1995, the Council of the European Union adopted a Resolution on the
image of women and men portrayed in advertising and the media, calling on
member states and the relevant authorities to promote a diversified and
realistic image of the possibilities and aptitudes of women and men in society,
and take steps to disseminate that image.
74. In its
Resolution of 16 September 1997 on discrimination against women in advertising,
the European Parliament urged the media to help change attitudes and to combat
sexist stereotypes in the content, images and language of advertising.
75. In its
Recommendation 1555
(2002) on “The image of women in the media”, the Council of Europe’s
Parliamentary Assembly asked the governments of Council member states to
encourage advertisers “to increase self-regulation through their own system of
professional ethics, insofar as freedom of expression permits”.
76.
Finally, in the Resolution on “achieving gender equality: a challenge for human
rights and a prerequisite for economic development”, adopted at the 6th
European Ministerial Conference on Equality between Women and Men (Stockholm,
9 June 2006), the Ministers agreed on “strategies for achieving
gender equality”, aimed, inter alia, at the media. Specifically, they
asked the media to draw up a code of conduct for media professionals on the
presentation of information on violence against women. They were also asked to
portray women and men in ways which were balanced, non-stereotyped and
respectful of their human dignity, and to present non-stereotyped images of
women and men on the labour market and in private life.
77. In
spite of these international and European instruments, however, there is no
denying that a great deal of advertising is still based on sexist stereotypes
which offend against human dignity.
78. It
would thus be a good idea for the member states to adopt specific measures to
combat sexist advertising.
VII.
Action by women to combat sexist advertising
79. There is nothing new about action by women to eliminate media stereotypes. In the 1960s and 1970s, women’s movements were already denouncing the clichés present in advertising.31
80. Mr
Teyssier says that the use made of images of women was first criticised in
France in the 1970s, when the target was portrayal of women as housewives or
objects. Later, criticism focused on subjection of women and the underlying
threat of violence. In the 1990s, sexuality was associated with male domination
and violence against women, as reflected in “porno chic”32.
81. The
following are women’s associations which have been particularly active in
combating sexist advertising.
82. La Meute (www.lameute.fr), which was founded in France, is an international network of women (and men) who are working to eliminate sexist advertising. Its members are individuals and associations who have signed the "NO to sexist advertising!" manifesto, launched by the French writer Florence Montreynaud on 28 September 2000. It has several committees outside France (in Switzerland, Quebec and Belgium) and combating sexist advertising is its raison d’être. Its aims are to: make the public and authorities aware of the problem, make commercial artists and their clients more sensitive to consumer opinion, and find ways of getting sexist advertising withdrawn or banned. Its methods include: demonstrations, petitions, leaflets, complaints, articles and annual prizes for the advertisements which break most effectively sexist stereotypes.33
83. The
association Images de femmes (www.imagedefemmes.com), founded in
1998 by an industrial communication consultant, seeks to promote, in consumer
and business circles, the image of women in the 50-70 age group. Women over 50
rarely appear in advertising and, when they do, are presented in terms which
have little to do with real life. Advertising features all age groups from
babies to pensioners, but rarely working women in their 50s – here the “youth cult”
prevails. Images de femmes brings many forms of pressure to bear on
public authorities, firms and the media – in short, any body which can help to
change perceptions of women in their 50s, and promote new attitudes to them.
84. Since
1996, Belgium has had Zorra34, a special website
(www.zorra.be) where the public can post complaints whenever the media or
advertisers present material which is inconsistent with gender equality. The
aim is to solve problems through dialogue between the public and media
professionals (e.g. to have advertising campaigns stopped or rethought). Zorra
also sponsors an annual prize, awarded by the public, for the “advertising
which does most to promote equality for women and/or combats stereotyped social
roles”.
85. In
Spain, the Institute for Women (www.mtas.es/mujer) has set up an Observatory on
Sexist Advertising. This is a public institution, and its primary job is to
improve the image of women in advertising. It collects, analyses and classifies
complaints from the public concerning sexist advertising, encourages
advertisers to take corrective action, publishes annual reports on types of
complaint received, and organises colloquies involving universities,
associations, etc35.
86. It is
worth emphasising the work done by these associations and public agencies,
which help the public, particularly via their websites, to develop a more
critical attitude to advertising and so think as citizens, not merely as
consumers.
87. The
following are a few telling examples of sexist advertising:
ü
L’Oréal commercial, November 2006, shown in connection with the American TV
series, “Desperate Housewives”: Eva Longoria, the new “face” of L’Oréal,
advertises a lipstick with the words “Keeps you beautiful so you can keep your
husband – or find another man!”
This
amounts to saying that all wives have cheating husbands, or are themselves
unfaithful - another fine image of women!
ü
A Belgian advertisement for cold meats (October 2006): a young couple are at
table, the woman is heavily pregnant, and the man notices for the first time as
he bites into a ham sandwich. The slogan - “If you can’t trust your wife, at
least trust our ham”.
Here
again, the suggestion is that no father can be sure that his wife’s children
are his, i.e. that all wives are unfaithful.
ü
In France, thousands of advertising cards for Club-Internet36 were distributed
via a shopping chain. The picture shows the legs of a woman in high-heel
sandals, who is lying on the floor and otherwise hidden by an open dishwasher
door. Text: “I wanted football, she wanted a film on shooting stars – she saw
stars alright!” In other words, after quarrelling with her over the TV, “he” beat
her up and “she” is now out for the count.
ü
Dolce & Gabbana: black and white photo: in the foreground, a woman facing
the camera, with a bare-chested man close behind her. The woman is wearing a
black bra and knickers, and pushing the knickers down. The man is easing off a
bra strap with one hand, and caressing her breast with the other. Underneath,
on a level with her genitals, a perfume bottle. The scene is unmistakably
intimate - the prelude to a sex act.
Why show
us this in a perfume advertisement?
This
is a private, personal and intimate scene. Parading private scenes or gestures
in public perverts the whole concept of the individual’s relationship with
his/her body and the bodies of others - and particularly the concept of
intimacy. The image also suggests a dominant male/submissive female
relationship.
This advertisement reflects a tendency to trivialise prostitution of the human (and particularly female) body.37
VIII.
What are the answers?
88.
Advertising must attach due importance to human dignity, and that using any
material which discriminates against women as a sales ploy is unacceptable.
89. There
is no disguising the fact that very many countries still have a long way to go.
The problem here is that neither policy-makers nor businessmen are genuinely
resolved to improve the image of women in advertising and the media in general.
The advertising multinationals are largely owned and run by men, and are still
imposing their visions of women on people throughout Europe.
90. At a
time when society is trying to refocus on responsibility, respect and human
dignity, we need to press ahead with our efforts to eliminate discrimination,
including discrimination in advertising, which plays a major part in
transmitting sexist stereotypes.
91. We
need a three-pronged approach: regulation, self-regulation and training to help
people react critically to advertising.
92. First
of all, the Council of Europe’s member states must bring their national laws
into line with basic human rights principles in this area, and with the United
Nations Convention of 18 December 1971 on the Elimination of all Forms of
Discrimination against Women. The EU states must implement the European
Parliament’s Resolution of 6 October 1997 on discrimination against women in
advertising (A4-0258/97)38. In both the
social and cultural fields, male and female behaviour patterns must embody no
practices which reflect gender stereotyping or assume that one sex is inferior
or superior to the other. Sexist advertising messages or images must be regarded
as unacceptable.
93.
Self-regulation is essential in this area, but the numerous advertisements
which present stereotyped images of women and men, or exploit violence, are
proof that this does not always work. National law should accordingly make
incitement to discrimination in any advertising medium an offence. It should
also be made easier for associations which combat gender-based discrimination
or violence to monitor advertising and bring civil proceedings - since they are
protecting the community, their interest in so doing should be recognised.
94.
Advertising professionals must also realise that they have a social duty to
help change attitudes in a positive sense, and take that duty more seriously.
Their self-regulating machinery should thus be strengthened. First of all,
national codes of ethics should be brought up to date and made clearer, to
prevent the dissemination of advertisements which embody sexist stereotypes or
threaten the dignity of women or men. Consumers (women and men) should be
appointed to national advertising standards authorities, to make them more
representative of the public. Secondly, since measures introduced by those
authorities are not always respected (Mr Teyssier reports that, in France, only
70% of the BVP’s recommendations on offensive advertising are followed39), their decisions
should be backed by sanctions.
95. Member
states should do more to make the public think about advertisements. Ms
Alexandre says that the public know little about the procedure for complaining
to the regulating authorities40, and so
information campaigns should be organised to put this right. At the hearing,
many experts also said that the public should be taught to analyse advertising
and become more critical. At a time when digital images are becoming
increasingly realistic, and there is growing confusion between the world we
live in and the world we see in advertisements, Mr Tisseron suggests that there
should be special programmes to give children the guidance they need to tell
the two apart41.
96. At the same time, advertising professionals should themselves be made more aware of the negative effects on the public of advertisements which embody sexist stereotypes or carry violent messages.42
97. In
fact, since advertising serves commercial interests and its language is the
language of seduction, advertisers have a real duty to monitor its content and
are answerable for the public’s reactions to it. They should thus be trained to
respect equality of the sexes and, more generally, avoid discrimination – and
this training should be provided in the schools where they learn their trade.
98. Like
Spain, with its “Creating Equality” award43, all the Council
of Europe’s member states should have prizes - one awarded by advertising
professionals to their peers, the other by the public - for the advertisements
which break most effectively with sexist stereotypes. These awards already
exist in certain countries (usually unofficially), and they help to give
advertisers a better image by encouraging those who, far from peddling the old
macho clichés, show women, men and female-male relationships in a positive
light.
99.
Finally, a thorough study of the image of men and women should be carried out
at European level, in response to the social need to prevent violence and curb
discrimination. In fact, the lack of specific research on advertisers’
portrayal of women is one of the chief obstacles to ongoing, effective
analysis. In the rapporteur’s view, all the groups concerned - advertising
professionals (advertisers, advertising agencies, the press, television,
billboard companies), civil society (women’s associations, consumer
associations, etc.) and regulating agencies - should all be asked to join in
preparing this study.
100. With
a view to protecting human rights and implementing the principle of
non-discrimination more fully, the resulting report would contain practical
proposals on ways of regulating relations between the various players more
effectively and making them more aware of the issues, if necessary by updating
existing laws and regulations. On this basis, guidelines on the representation
of women and men in advertising would be drawn up. The International Code of
Advertising Practice is couched in over-general terms, and so a European code,
indicating precisely what is meant by advertising which is degrading to women
or men, or discriminates against them, would be useful. These guidelines should
help the professionals who plan advertising campaigns to present positive
images of men and women, and eliminate all forms of gender-based
discrimination.
101. In conclusion,
it is proposed that the Assembly adopt a resolution aiming at the adoption of
legal, ethical and educational measures applying to advertising, and also a
recommendation on the preparation of an in-depth European study on the image of
women and men in advertising, as well as a European good conduct code, in
accordance with the appended draft.
* * *
Reporting
committee:
Committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men